Two More and I'm an Ace

[drcollie]

On the way home this evening it's pitch black on the highway and I'm less than a mile from home, and I collect a deer that decided to run across the highway at 7 p.m. while I'm traveling 50 mph.

This is my third deer strike in the past 11 years, and I'm getting to where I really don't like these critters very much. My first was in 1997, and it did $ 12,000 worth of damage to my BMW M3. My second was about midnight in Delaware three years later along I-95 when one decided to commit suicide by going head to head with The Keeping Room Freightliner. That was did $ 6,000 worth of damage to the truck. Tonight this one tore up my '06 BMW pretty good, hood, grille, passenger door, A Pillar, headllght and front bumper cover. Looks to be about $ 6,000 on this one to my eye.

I live in Northern VA in a semi-rural area at the edge of the 'burbs. Prime deer forests, and we typically have 15 to 20 in our yard some evenings. We're all very watchful for deer on the roads around here, but you can't miss each and every one. Coupled with the lyme disease problem and the way they destroy all the landscaping around the house, they're not longer the cute Bambi's of the movies but considered pests around this part of the world.

I do like the way my BMW's absorb the hits. Here's a photo I took of my car after the hit and you can see the front grille folded down and the hood crumple zone folded up exactly as it should. My car never shook, or even wavered at the strike, I didn't even hit the brakes or had even the slightest loss of control.

Off to the Body Shop next week! Looks like I'll be on my motorcycle commuting for a few weeks......

[soster]

I'm glad you're OK. You are OK, right?

Anyways, be careful on the bike. M'thinks the deer will win everytime.

Steve

[drcollie]

I'm golden, Steve, thanks for asking. The car basically drove right through the deer, didn't swerve or miss a beat.

In my 1996 hit, the deer came into the windshield and it exploded the glass into some 20,000 safety glass pieces, which at 50 mph means total loss of any visibility at pretty good clip. That was a bit more tramatic as I had to get the car stopped on the highway in a straight line with no visible reference points.

I've done quite a bit of high performance instructing at driving schools with various car clubs and organizations over the years, so I stay pretty calm on collisions at speed and all that sort of thing. One thing we really try to teach students is to not lose control of the vehicle when unexpected things occur and to maintain a sense of presence where the vehicle is in relation to the roadway or track at all times. No doubt my training helps greatly in these strike situations.

[puhmuckel]

I would get a rental car just to be sure

[drcollie]

$ 7,600 in damage that you see in the photo. Body shop here in VA has five other cars in there for deer strikes as well.

Sure wish this happened in the summer! It's a bit *C~O~L~D* riding to and fro to the store on the motorcycle, especially the ride home when its dark!